Gervinho will miss up to four weeks with an ankle injury, according to several reports.
The Ivory Coast international picked up the knock and was stretchered off during Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over QPR last Saturday afternoon.
The 25-year-old underwent a scan on Monday and it was revealed that he will be out of action for around a month, missing some crucial games along the way, such as the trips to Manchester United and Schalke, as well as the North London derby at The Emirates against Tottenham.
However, many fans will not be too disappointed by the news. In fact, many will be pleased to see the Ivorian sidelined after some under par performances as of late.
So if indeed reports are to be believed and Gervinho is unavailable until the end of November, who should replace him?
Well we have a number of candidates for the job, such as Aaron Ramsey, Andrey Arshavin and Theo Walcott, as well as promising youngster Serge Gnarby. I haven’t included Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain because he is also out with an injury.
Lukas Podolski is bound to keep his position on the left, while Olivier Giroud will almost certainly occupy the central role up front (the position Gervinho has been deployed in in the last few games) and I think, out of the players listed above, there are only two standout contenders for the wide role – Arshavin and Walcott.
Based on their performances last night against Reading, these two are definitely in with a shout of starting and hopefully impressing.
I would like to see either one of these two fill in while Gervs recovers, but it all depends on what Arsene Wenger wants from his side. If he wants more stability and a hardworking outfit, then he will opt for Ramsey on the wing, as he has done for in the past games. But if he wants to go gung-ho, play with more flair and pace then he should pick either Arshavin or Walcott.
Personally, out of the two, I would like to see Arshavin get some games. He really shone last night, drove the team forward and was involved in many of the goals.
However, can we overlook Theo after his dazzling performance? Simply put, no.
Although I am not his biggest fan, he deserves a shot, and if he gets it he needs to take it with both hands and show us why he merits a new deal.
Arshavin or Walcott for me.
Who should fill in for Gervinho and why?
Let us know below
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anyone
I think Wenger will choose Ramsey since he is more rested in relation to Walcatt or Arshavin since both of them played for over 120 minutes last night. Either of these two might come as a sub later on to shake things up. It is going to be a very hard game. United will do anything to win the game and stay close to Chelsea, and when I say anything I mean anything…if you know what I mean!!!!!!
I know what you mean…
Theo looks to be on fire.
Manure game will be tough. I wonder if Fergie will pick Webb for this one. He can’t pick Clutterbug because he is in hot water for being too biaised against Chelski.
Webbs playing. Fergie’s giving him a free role
Walcott has to start this one. Our game has suffered due to lack of pace as we continue to field Ramsey and give our opponents the opportunity to attack us. With Walcott in the team and Diaby when he returns, we will dominate every team. Remember the effect Ox had on man u last season when the fans had to boo Wenger when he substituted him. There must be pace in all positions for us to stand a chance against manure.
Please,Wenger keep Ramsey on the bench. We need Walcot, later introduce Arshavin for the game against Man.Utd.
YOu analysis leaves a lot out.Walcott drove that team, he pointed at them out when they were not moving forward to get onto a cross. His mental toughness jumped out as much as his speed , and he and Giroud were quite a combo..much more impressed with Eislfeld the Gnabry who is not ready. Arshaving did well, but as I sated Theo grewup last night, and led this team. There was no quit in him at all. I am glad Gervinho is out, play our boy and let he and Poldi work those combos with Giroud
i think , wenger will choose three of them based on the team he is facing as well as for the home n away games , as 4 me i wld prefer ramsey when we play big teams n until gibes comes back cos ramsey will help santos in defence better than the two . and another thing is since welshire is back we can use ramsey on wings for 60-70 min . but if we r playing small teams or we r playing at home i wlg go for walcot , by the way i like the understanding of walcot n giroud . saturday is a big big game hope we win
Playing Man U we know what to expect. It is 12 against 11.